The French blogeur revolution is being spearheaded by precocious youngsters. According to government figures, half of all schoolchildren are bloggers, an estimated 3 million. Almost 2 million of them use Skyblog, a service operated by youth radio station Skyrock that is growing by around 600 new journals and 200,000 entries every day.

Many teens use cell phones to post diary entries and pop-culture news flashes to their skyblogs on the move. But that portability is ruffling feathers in the classroom, where provocative adolescents use their journals to lampoon teachers and classmates with embarrassing camera-phone snaps and abusive remarks like “il pue le vin” — “he stinks of wine.”

A spate of blog-related suspensions culminated last month in the expulsion of 10 pupils from high schools in Auvergne and Picardy, four of whom also faced legal action; ministers swiftly introduced new school rules making it unlawful to insult anyone by blog.

“We discovered blogs in the U.S. in 2001 and wanted to adapt this formidable means of expression for our rising generation,” said Skyrock CEO Pierre Bellanger. “The classroom was formerly a closed place but, with mobile phones, it becomes a recordable, open place. The adults do not like it and are lost there.”

“The internet is the most important medium for school kids in France,” said Six Apart’s Le Meur. “The young people are not used yet to traditional media. They were already sharing everything on instant messaging, so blogs are just natural for them – the problem is, nobody told them they could not criticize their teachers.” [Emphasis mine.]

6 Comments

“But that portability is ruffling feathers in the classroom, where provocative adolescents use their journals to lampoon teachers and classmates with embarrassing camera-phone snaps and abusive remarks like ‘il pue le vin’ — ‘he stinks of wine.’”

If that’s what the majority of the posts are (and it seems to be, given what I read), then this is hardly an educational tool worth exploiting. Aren’t we trying to raise the level of discussion to one of introspection and learning, not the electronic equilvalent of passing nasty notes in class?

That’s why I said “Non?” No, this isn’t blogging. And no, it’s not an educational tool the way I would like it to be. The scope of issues like these seems to be widening, and I’m still having trouble getting my brain around it…

I keep hearing about how hard it is to get kids to read and write. Now you’re gonna complain that you don’t like what they’re reading and writing??

If you don’t engage in their conversations, you’re only talking ABOUT them and not WITH them. Their conversation is over there. If the goal is to help them understand, shape the conversation into something more productive, show them how to get more out of it … you can’t do that by talking to us

A journal can be a reflection or a grocery list. Each has a place in education. The critical skill is knowing what that is and the critical job for teachers is helping those people who need to know that differnce. The critical question is, “Are you up to it?”

Hey, Nathan…I’m not complaining. I taught expository writing for 15 years and believe me, I’m in the camp that says that the more you use the words the better. But absolutely right to ask whether teachers are up to the job of talking with students about it rather than at them. In fact, I might suggest to my English Department Supervisor that she engage her teachers in a dialogue about what this type of writing means. Might be a way into the conversation with students…

The scope of the response to blogging by students in france caught my eye. Kids love this stuff. How can we build upon students natural inclination to blog? I have a hunch that there is a way to combine blogging and portfolio development to foster a constructivist educational movement. I think there might be a useful connection between the two processes. My thoughts are pretty messy about this, but that’s what draws me to explore the concept of blogging.